Chapter Text
If anyone were to ask Anne Shirley what her favorite part of her job was, she would absolutely say the people she worked with. Her coworkers were her family. She loved working with them to make the citizens of Avonlea’s lives better.
However, she did not care for Gilbert Blythe.
He had - very rudely - sauntered into Avonlea along with Muriel Stacey, claiming they were there to help ‘fix the town’, whatever that meant. In Anne’s personal opinion, nothing about Avonlea needed fixing. It was perfectly fine without outsiders meddling with it. Well, it was perfectly fine minus the fact that the town was broke.
Anne tried to be civil at first, she truly did. She had complimented Gilbert, welcomed him into her department, but he interrupted her, instead addressing Josie about any unnecessary personnel.
“There is none,” Anne interjected as Josie asked where they would even start. Gilbert turned his gaze to her and she saw the beginnings of a competition in his eyes. A look that clearly said, if you’re going to be impossible, so will I.
“Listen, Miss Shirley, your town is in the middle of a crisis. We’re going to have to let some people go and make changes that won’t make everyone happy.”
Anne could feel her temper begin to rise, and for the first time in a long time (well, not that long), she completely ignored the breathing exercises Marilla told her about to help calm herself down.
“Listen, Mr. Blythe, making everyone happy is the entire point of my-” Josie cleared her throat- “ our department. We provide services for people. You can’t just take those services away!”
Gilbert huffed, clearly already tired of her. “Actually, yes I can. That’s the entire point of my job.” He stood up, grabbed his papers, and stuffed them into his briefcase. “I would like to have this conversation with both director and deputy director, but I could just as easily meet with Miss Pye.” And just like that, he left the conference room, leaving Anne the angriest she had been in a long time.
She took a breath, ready to tell Josie she couldn’t possibly have that meeting without her, when Josie said, “No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’? Didn’t you hear him? He practically threatened to fire all of us.”
“Anne, for once can you not jump to conclusions and make everything ten times more dramatic than you need to, please for my sake.” Anne deflated, her argument dying on her tongue. “Trust me, I unfortunately know how much you care about your job and this town. But this is Gilbert’s job. He knows what he’s doing.”
“I’ve never heard you openly praise a man like that before,” Anne muttered, wanting to alleviate the tension just a little bit.
“Anne.”
“I know, I know. I’ll try not to provoke him.”
Unfortunately, all Anne could do when she saw Gilbert was provoke him.
They openly fought in front of all the other parks department staff, sniped at each other while talking with Muriel Stacey, and even sabotaged the other’s meetings from time to time. Anne knew she was being harsh and nasty and so many other things she absolutely was not, but she couldn’t help it. Something about Gilbert brought out the worst in her.
“Are you sure it’s not just sexual tension?” Tillie asked during lunch one day, roughly a month since Gilbert came to town. Her question almost made Anne choke on her bagel.
“ What? ” Anne asked. No, ew, disgusting, as if. Anne could never be interested in Gilbert like that; the mere thought was enough to make Anne want to take a shower. And, more importantly, Gilbert could never be interested in Anne like that.
Right?
Anne was rather quiet for the rest of the day, only taking calls that were crucial to maintaining the city’s parks. A war was occurring in her mind. Did she like Gilbert? She was quick to say no; she despised him. He was rude, arrogant, and didn’t take anything Anne cared about seriously. But he was nice to everyone else. From a distance, Anne could see the kindness everyone else talked about. She could see the way he cared almost as much as she did. He cared enough to argue with her everyday.
Ugh, no. She couldn’t romanticize whatever this thing she had with Gilbert was. He was rude and mean to her and that was the end of that. No more discussion, no more unwanted thoughts on the subject.
“The Harvest Festival?” Gilbert asked. It wasn’t his usual sneer, so Anne knew it was a good sign.
“This is how we’re going to raise money! The Harvest Festival was this huge event where thousands of people came from all over to see what Avonlea had to offer. If we do this right, it could be incredible,” Anne said, her argument having been repeated many times over the past week. Muriel Stacey looked to Anne with the biggest smile she had ever seen. She just needed to win over Gilbert.
“What if this fails?” he asked. Anne looked to her coworkers, saw her own determination staring back at her. She could do this.
“If we fail,” she said, “you eliminate the parks department.”
Gilbert paused, clearly not expecting this. He looked Anne straight in the eye, and she tried not to waver under his gaze. He has very nice eyes, Anne thought involuntarily. Something seemed to shift in his demeanor, and Anne almost got the sense they just became friends.
“Okay,” he said. The small office erupted into cheers. Anne smiled wide and Gilbert’s own smile began to match. Maybe he felt their friendship beginning to grow too.
Things began to change between Anne and Gilbert a few days after he approved of their Harvest Festival plans.
She never realized how many things they had in common. He had read almost all of her favorite books, and she completely agreed on his opinions about whatever celebrity drama was in the news. Anne had met her fair share of kindred spirits, but none of them seemed to get her as much as Gilbert did. It was like he saw her for everything she was and decided to keep her around anyway.
Their new found friendship was unfortunately not ignored.
As soon as Gilbert left the office after walking with Anne one day, a chorus of ‘oohs’ and wolf whistles assaulted Anne’s ears.
“Oh, shut up,” she said. But her face was growing warm, and her coffee cup had his name on it, and she couldn’t help but see things from her coworkers point of view. Who so quickly went from mortal enemies to best friends without some sort of romance involved?
Me and Gilbert, Anne quickly answered her own rhetorical question. She didn’t like him like that, couldn’t like him like that. One, the city manager had a rule about boss/employee relationships, and two, Gilbert would never like her like that. She had seen him making very obvious googly eyes at Winifred Rose, the director of the health department.
It was fine. They were friends. Anne very much liked being his friend.
But there were times when the energy between them would shift. When Anne would tell a joke and Gilbert would laugh just a little too hard. When Gilbert would bring Anne her usual coffee order without her having to ask. When they would hold the elevator door for the other even if they were ways away, just so they could talk for a little bit longer.
It was so very easy for Anne to get lost in Gilbert’s eyes, so very easy for her to want to run her hands through his hair. But then she’d remember where they were and who they were and how they started. It was a miracle he wanted to be her friend after every nasty comment. Anne could never even hope for him to see her as a romantic option.
Not that she wanted to be with him romantically. Nope, not at all.
Anne had a very important meeting to attend, a meeting that would secure everything she needed for the festival. And she was at the docks, miles from City Hall. Because Gilbert had called her.
“It never gets easier, does it?” he asked, feet dangling an inch above the water. His head was resting on Anne’s shoulder despite their height difference making it slightly awkward.
“Not really, no.”
Today was the fifth anniversary of Gilbert’s dad passing. And he chose to spend it with Anne.
“My dad passed, not too long ago,” Anne said, despite herself. “He wasn’t my birth dad, but he was the dad I needed, the dad who chose me when no one else did. There’s not a day I don’t miss him.”
She didn’t know if it was because Gilbert was close to the situation, or because Anne trusted him with everything she had, but she told him all about Matthew Cuthbert. And slowly, Gilbert’s tears dried and they were making jokes again.
“Your meeting!” Gilbert suddenly said. He stood up, yanked Anne’s arms, and began dragging her to his car.
“Gil, it’s fine,” Anne said, laughing all the way. She should be stressed that she missed that meeting. She should be an anxious mess that nothing went according to plan today. “It’s just a meeting. Besides, Jerry and Ruby are there.” She took a breath before saying, “I would miss a hundred meetings if it meant you were all right.”
And in that moment Anne knew she was royally screwed.
The look in Gilbert’s eyes could only be described as adoration, and Anne was lost in it. She never wanted him to stop looking at her like that.
It was suddenly very hard to pretend Anne was fine being just Gilbert’s friend.
The Harvest Festival was in a week and Anne couldn’t focus. Well, she could, but on the wrong thing.
She could only focus on Gilbert Blythe’s stupid eyes.
“I thought you two were just friends,” Diana said. Anne was slumped on her desk, ready to take a nap.
“I thought we were too, but then we started working on the festival, and I don’t know. Something shifted,” Anne said, words muffled by her arm. “It’s like, before, when I pushed, he’d pull, but now he pushes too.”
Anne could feel Diana’s sympathy radiating off her. It felt nice to know she could vent about this to someone without them saying ‘I told you so’.
“Do you think he likes you too?” Diana asked. Anne didn’t even want to begin considering that. What if he didn’t? Oh, god, what if he did?
Anne was saved from having to answer by the topic of their conversation strolling into Anne’s office.
“Hey, Anne, I just wanted to ask- uh, is she okay?” Gilbert asked. Anne was still a lump on her desk, unmoving.
Diana hesitated before saying, “Oh, it’s just... lady problems.” Kill me now, Anne thought.
“I can go grab some stuff if you need anything, Anne.” He needed to stop saying her name. He needed to stop in general; Anne didn’t think her heart could take much more.
Thankfully, Diana Barry was a goddess. “It’s okay, I got her, Gilbert.”
“Oh, okay. Um, I’ll see you later then.” Anne lifted her head just in time to see Gilbert look back, their eyes locking. A blush colored her cheeks and she dropped her head again.
Diana made a noise and Anne knew she was trying not to laugh at her.
“I’m so glad my pain is funny to you,” Anne said, causing Diana to laugh for real. “For real though, what do I do, Di?”
Diana was silent for longer than Anne wanted. Anne knew what her options were: confess her feelings to Gilbert and be fired, or keep her feelings to herself and live the rest of her days in agony. Neither sounded very pleasant.
“I don’t know, Anne. Usually I would tell you to go after what you wanted, but it’s not that easy this time.”
Well, if Diana said it was hopeless, Anne wouldn’t survive this.
“Something told me you’d be here,” Gilbert said, sitting on the carousel horse in front of Anne. The Harvest Festival was officially opening tomorrow morning and Anne felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off it lest it turn to dust. “Anne, it’s eight. Why are you still here?”
She couldn’t quite look at him as she said, “What if I fail tomorrow? What if we open and no one comes? All of our hard work would’ve been for nothing.”
Gilbert didn’t even hesitate. “You’re not going to fail. The amount of love and passion and time you’ve put into this project is incredible. No one would even be able to ignore it.”
Something Anne quickly learned about Gilbert was that he always knew what the right words to say were. Usually those words were meant to destroy Anne’s argument and leave her fuming for hours, but now it was only to cheer her up.
Despite his words, Anne still couldn’t chase the feeling of failure away. Though, if she were to look on the bright side, failure meant losing her job meant she could finally act on her stupid feelings for the stupid boy sitting beside her.
Ugh, what was wrong with her? No boy was worth losing her job over. Not even Gilbert Blythe.
“C’mon, why don’t we get some ice cream or something,” Gilbert offered. He got off the carousel horse and held out his hand. Anne tried to fight the urge to smile as she took his hand.
“You’re not always right, you know,” Anne said. Gilbert intertwined their fingers and Anne’s heart threatened to leap out of her chest.
“I wouldn’t say always,” Gilbert agreed. “Most of the time sounds right.” Anne rolled her eyes.
“Pride is a sin, Mr. Blythe, and someone is sounding awfully sure of himself,” Anne teased. But something in the air shifted.
“Only around you, Miss Shirley. Only around you.” Anne wanted to pause and unpack all of that, but Gilbert’s hand still latched onto hers and he continued dragging her through the festival grounds. He wouldn’t look at her though, and they didn’t say another word until they reached Gilbert’s car and he drove them to the ice cream parlor.
They didn’t fail. In hindsight, Anne felt slightly stupid for worrying so much.
The Harvest Festival made double what they needed to keep the parks department.
“And to think, Anne Shirley Cuthbert herself was worried this wouldn’t work out,” Cole said, nudging her shoulder with his. Everyone was inside, cheering and celebrating and using their success as an excuse to get drunk. But Anne and Cole were on the patio behind City Hall, looking out to sea.
Anne scoffed. “I was not…” Cole gave her a look. “Okay, fine, I was incredibly worried. This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done in my career. If I failed, then I wouldn’t have just failed me. I would’ve failed everyone.”
Anne knew Josie wouldn’t have been too bothered. Despite being the department’s director, she didn’t really care about the work she was doing. It annoyed Anne to no end because how could she just not care , but the two had a rhythm that just worked. But there was still Ruby and Jerry and Tillie and Moody who cared, just like Anne. They weren’t as obvious with their devotion as Anne was, but she could tell. She wouldn’t have been able to bear it if she failed them.
Plus there was Gilbert. Not that he would lose his job if everything didn’t work out, but the thought of disappointing him made Anne incredibly nauseous. Against everything Anne had promised herself that first day, she had grown increasingly fond of him and desperately cared for what he thought of her.
“Anne, even if things didn’t work out, you wouldn’t have failed anyone.” Anne opened her mouth to argue but Cole wouldn’t have it. “Yes, people would’ve lost their jobs and that sucks, but no one would blame you. You work harder than anyone to ensure the people you care about are happy and satisfied. No one would blame you.”
Anne promptly burst into tears.
Cole chuckled and wrapped his arm around Anne’s shoulders.
“Anne, I- oh,” Gilbert said, walking out onto the patio. Cole quickly dropped his arm and Anne was slightly grateful for it. “Sorry, am I interrupting anything?” he asked, a hint of something in his voice.
“No, I was just congratulating Anne on all her hard work,” Cole said. He was already starting to leave. “Some people are just so emotional.” Anne stuck her tongue out at him, though tears were still running down her cheeks.
The air seemed to grow tense as soon as Cole was back inside. Gilbert practically gravitated towards Anne. He reached out to wipe the tears on Anne’s face, and Anne felt like she could find all the answers to the universe in his touch alone.
“You okay?” he asked. Anne laughed and nodded. “Good, good.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but decided against it. Instead he said, “Everyone’s really impressed with you.”
“Well, it was a team effort,” Anne said, still not quite used to his praise. All of this would be easier if he weren’t so serious, if he cracked a joke or teased her. She didn’t know exactly what to do with sincere Gilbert.
“That you led. Don’t sell yourself short, Anne. This is all because of you.”
Gilbert’s hand was still cupping Anne’s cheek, and it took everything in her power to not lean forward and kiss him. Before Anne could even tell herself why kissing him was such a bad idea, Gilbert took half a step towards Anne and kissed her.
It was quick and over before Anne even processed it happened. Gilbert kissed her. Gilbert kissed her.
Gilbert began to stutter, taking multiple steps away from her. Anne already missed him. “I-I… I’m- I shouldn’t have done that.”
He was right; it was stupid and reckless and anyone could’ve seen them. That didn’t mean Anne regretted it.
She was about to confess everything, to put her heart on the line when Gilbert said, “I’m sorry. I’m your boss, and I… I’m sorry.” He all but ran back into the building, leaving Anne speechless and alone and heartbroken.
Anne made it a point to avoid Gilbert at all costs.
If she saw him in the hallway, she’d promptly turn around and go back the way she came. If he entered the department office, she’d lock her doors and wait for him to leave. She unfortunately couldn’t avoid him during meetings, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t do everything to ignore him.
It worked for the most part; he seemed determined to avoid her too.
“What even happened?” Diana asked. Anne was crouched next to her desk, peeking through her door’s window to see if Gilbert had left or not. Diana was sitting in Anne’s desk chair, pretending to take a call. Cole sat in the chair next to the desk, scribbling nonsense on his notepad.
“Well, he kissed me. And then before I could even process it was happening, he started stuttering nonsense and ran. Obviously he thinks it was some kind of mistake.” Anne didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in her voice. She was angry and sad and tired. She thought Gilbert knew her for all her faults and chose her anyway. One tiny glimpse into what a romantic relationship with her could mean and suddenly all of that was gone. It was even worse than when he first got to Avonlea.
“I mean, he did kiss you. Not the other way around. At least you know he was interested in you,” Cole said. Was. Past tense. Anne didn’t need to say it; Cole caught his mistake as soon as he said it. “Is. He is interested in you.”
“Smooth,” Diana said. She turned her attention back to Anne. “You’ve been doing a good job of avoiding him. Just don’t end up in a situation where you have to be alone with him. Easy peasy.”
So naturally, the city manager wanted them to go on a road trip to Charlottetown. The point of the trip was to convince a little league baseball tournament to use Avonlea as its home base. Anne couldn't even appreciate the pun.
“Muriel said you two work well together, so I’m expecting success from this trip.” Anne could feel Gilbert’s eyes on her, but she focused her attention on Phillips. “You’re set to leave tomorrow, so pack whatever you need for the next few days.”
Next few days. Alone. With Gilbert. Oh no.
Gilbert picked Anne up bright and early the next morning. A coffee cup was in her cup holder, her name written on the side of it. Anne with an e.
“You got me coffee?” Anne asked.
“I know how cranky you can be without caffeine injected into your veins.”
Anne gasped. “I do not get cranky!” Gilbert gave her a look and her argument fell to pieces. It was almost like it used to be. “Fine. I suppose I am prone to crankiness in the early morning so thank you. I appreciate it.” She hoped he knew how much she meant it.
The trip was relatively uneventful. They only argued about the music for ten minutes, a personal best for them. Anne pointed out some cows, which made Gilbert smile in a way Anne wasn’t used to. Or maybe she just hadn’t been paying attention.
The trouble started when a traffic jam got them stuck for almost two hours.
Anne’s coffee buzz had worn out long ago. Gilbert’s playlist ended but neither moved to put on new music. Anne knew Gilbert could feel whatever tension settled over them in the silence.
“Anne, I’m sorry,” Gilbert said just as Anne said, “Gil, I think we should talk.”
They both managed a small laugh.
“You go first,” Anne said.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you and run. I was scared, I think. I thought if I could get away as fast as possible, you wouldn’t have time to reject me.”
He thought she would reject him? Anne almost laughed at the thought.
“What makes you think I would reject you?” Anne said, voice impossibly quiet. She was almost surprised Gilbert even heard her at all.
Anne risked looking over at him. He was already looking at her, cheeks stained red, and mouth slightly open. She really wanted to kiss him again.
“I mean, I know we can’t or else we’d both lose our jobs, but…” Anne took a deep breath. “I was never going to reject you.”
The car in front of them began moving, and a chorus of honking sounded from behind them. Gilbert took his gaze off Anne, looking at the road in front of him.
“Just letting you know, I absolutely would’ve kissed you right now if I wasn’t driving,” he said. Anne’s entire face heated up.
“Noted.”
They checked into the hotel slightly behind schedule, and it was almost eleven when they finally made it to their room. They were almost too tired to notice that there was only one bed. Almost.
“Shirley, if you wanted to get me into bed so badly, you just had to say so,” Gilbert said.
“I’m going to kill you.” Obviously there had to be some kind of mistake. Phillips would actually kill them if he found out the room he booked them had just one bed. “We’ll just talk to management and tell them there’s been a mix up.”
Anne grabbed her bag and began to leave the room when Gilbert grabbed her wrist. He almost looked embarrassed.
“Anne, it’s late. Why don’t we just stay here tonight and get everything sorted in the morning.”
“Blythe, if you wanted to get me into bed so badly, you just had to say so,” Anne said, a smirk on her face. Gilbert’s cheeks turned red. Knowing she had that kind of effect on him was its own small thrill.
He did have a point though. Anne had been fighting off yawns since they parked, and they had to get up early in the morning. It wouldn’t kill them to share a bed for one night. Right?
Anne was already in bed by the time Gilbert was out of the bathroom. She tried to not let him distract her from her book, but his stupid plaid pajama pants looked unfairly good on him.
“What are you reading?” he asked as he got in bed beside her. Something about the scene reminded Anne of those old black and white sitcoms where the married couple would sit in bed together and talk about their day. It made her breath hitch.
“Uh, Sense and Sensibility ,” Anne responded. Gilbert smirked.
“An Austen fan, huh?” he asked, like he didn’t already know the answer. “I assume you’ve read Pride and Prejudice. ”
“Naturally.”
Anne didn’t know if the bed was really that small or if she had simply let her guard down, but Gilbert was suddenly very close to her. Now that he knew her true feelings, he was awfully sure of himself. Anne didn’t know what to make of it.
“Does that make us Elizabeth and Darcy?” Gilbert asked. Anne could feel his breath on her cheeks.
“It depends. Is this Darcy’s first or second proposal?” He was leaning in. He was going to kiss her. For real this time. Anne felt frozen.
“Second,” Gilbert said before closing the gap and planting his lips on hers. Anne got over her shock very quickly and proceeded to kiss him back.
When Anne was younger, she didn’t quite understand why people felt the need to kiss one another. She thought it to be gross and incredibly unromantic. What was romantic was a lingering gaze, a brush of hands, tucking hair behind an ear.
She still thought those things were romantic, but now she knew kissing was romantic as well. A kiss on a hand in greeting. A gentle brush of lips on one’s forehead. A quick peck goodbye. A passionate kiss to say all the words one couldn’t quite say out loud yet.
Kissing Gilbert Blythe was easily going to become Anne’s new favorite pastime. Why hadn’t she done this sooner?
Then she remembered.
Her job. Her job that she loved very, very much. Her job that she wouldn’t give up for anything, not even this amazing boy next to her.
Anne pulled away, surprising Gilbert. They were both breathing heavily, but Anne was on the verge of a panic attack.
“Hey, Anne, are you okay?” Gilbert asked, placing a hand on her arm.
She tried to catch her breath. “We… we can’t, remember? We could both be fired.” A shadow passed over Gilbert’s face. Whatever happiness they had just a moment ago was ruined.
“Right. We should, uh, just go to bed then.” Anne nodded, feeling slightly guilty for ruining things. But they couldn’t just throw caution to the wind. They needed to be smart about this. They couldn’t just rush into things.
Anne repeated those thoughts until she fell asleep, a reminder that what happened between them couldn’t happen again. It broke her heart.
Anne had been prone to insomnia since she was a teenager, but she knew that wasn’t why she couldn’t stay asleep. Despite both of their attempts to put distance between them, Gilbert tossed and turned in his sleep. He kept crowding into Anne’s space, making her almost fall off the bed.
Finally, Anne got out of bed, frustrated. She stalked to the window and peeked through the curtain. She could barely see the stars, making her even more frustrated. That’s why she loved Avonlea so much; she could see the stars shining from her bedroom.
She shut the curtain, turned her attention back to Gilbert. He was breathing deeply, the corners of his mouth upturned slightly, like he was having a pleasant dream.
This could be her everyday. She could have this domestic bliss.
Anne, be sensible, the Marilla that lived in Anne’s head said. Someone’s heart would be broken either way.
Anne didn’t want to break his heart. And she didn’t want him to break her heart. It was a lose-lose situation.
Unless….
It would require so much secrecy and an intense amount of sneaking around, but they could do it. They could be together and keep their jobs. Plus, breaking a rule of Phillips’ would be its own fun.
Anne carefully climbed back into bed, no longer minding Gilbert in her space. She fell asleep in seconds.
Anne told Gilbert her plan as they got ready for their meeting.
“Gil, it could work,” she said, putting her hair into a ponytail. He didn’t look at her the entire time she went over the plan, but now all of his attention was on her. She tried not to blush. “If you still want to, that is.”
“Of course I still want to,” he said, making Anne smile. “But I don’t want to be the reason you get fired.”
“I won’t get fired, and neither will you. We can be sneaky.” Or, they would learn to be sneaky. Anne knew what she wanted now; she could only hope that Gilbert knew too.
Gilbert took a step toward Anne, reaching out to pull on a strand of her hair escaping her ponytail. “Let’s do this then, Carrots.” Anne was too happy to care about the nickname.
They easily won over the little league committee. Between Anne’s passion and Gilbert’s logic, it was a cinch.
As soon as the committee was out of sight, Gilbert grabbed Anne and spun her around. Anne’s heart was close to bursting.
“We’re quite the dream team, aren’t we, Miss Shirley,” Gilbert said, taking her hand in his. If they were back home, Anne would push him away, chastise him for being so careless. But anything felt possible in Charlottetown; they could win over the committee, Anne could hold Gilbert’s hand, they wouldn’t get fired.
“I would agree, but I think your head’s already getting bigger.” Gilbert laughed and Anne smiled. She loved making him laugh.
They had one more day in Charlottetown to sign any papers that needed signing, agree to any requirements, wrap up any loose ends. Both Anne and Gilbert thought it would be such a hassle to get another room when they were already unpacked.
“Do you think Phillips will treat us to a fancy dinner when we get back?” Gilbert asked as they got settled into bed.
Anne snorted. “He’ll probably say our success is reward enough and we shouldn’t be so cocky.”
“Oh, absolutely.” They bursted out laughing, laughing harder and longer than the joke required. Anne’s stomach began to ache. The exhaustion from the day was setting in as Anne tried to catch her breath. She caught Gilbert staring at her and tried to resist the self conscious feeling clawing up her throat.
“What?” she asked, the question coming out as a wheeze. It made Gilbert laugh harder. “ What? ” Anne repeated. They both sobered up after another round of laughter, and the air grew serious.
“You just continuously amaze me, Anne Shirley Cuthbert,” Gilbert said. He was getting more and more confident as the day went on, casually complimenting Anne like it didn’t give her a heart attack everytime. She tried to act sure of herself as well, but romantic relationships were always a sore subject for her. Her lack of experience and interested suitors was a recurring joke in the office.
“How do you do that?” Anne asked.
“Do what?”
“Act so sure of yourself. You say things like that, things that make me speechless - me! Speechless! - and go on with your day like you didn’t completely upend mine. I can’t even give you a proper compliment without my face turning the color of a lobster, and you just casually become a period drama love interest. It’s infuriating!”
Gilbert’s smile was so wide that Anne knew he was trying to hold back a laugh. But she saw the blush coloring his cheeks, even in the dark. Her words had the same effect on him as his words had on her. It was absolutely thrilling.
Gilbert took her hand again, pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I know how I feel about you. I know you at least feel a fraction of the same way. I know that I’m incredibly certain about you. So, I say everything I wanted to say to you before I knew your feelings.”
Yet again, Anne was speechless. No one had ever been ‘incredibly certain’ about her before. This boy was going to make her do something stupid, she could tell.
They lasted about two weeks before someone caught them.
Thankfully it was just Cole, who swore he wouldn’t tell anyone, but the encounter was so embarrassing that Anne couldn’t get any work done for the rest of the day.
“Anne, let’s go, we have a meeting,” Jerry said, trying to pull Anne off her chair. She wouldn’t budge; Gilbert would be attending the meeting, and seeing him would make Anne’s face burst into flames. It would give them away.
She faked a cough. “I-I’m not feeling very well, Jerry. You go ahead, fill in for me.”
Jerry groaned. “If they ask me a question and the answer isn’t in the binder, I’m blaming you.” Anne waved him out of her office, thankful for at least half an hour of peace and quiet.
Her heart rate was slowly returning to normal when a knock at her door made it speed up again. Cole was standing in the doorway, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Can I come in?” he asked. Anne nodded, dread filling her stomach. She knew what he was going to say: they had to be careful, they could be caught by literally anyone, it might not be worth it in the end. Anne knew that was what Diana would say when she told her.
But Cole said none of that.
“You look really happy,” he said. Anne looked up, surprised. She was expecting a lecture. “I mean not right now, even I’m still horrified from that.” Anne laughed despite herself. “But you seem happy with him.”
If anyone at work knew of Anne’s failed romances, it was Cole. Diana may have been Anne’s best friend since forever, but Cole was her other half. He understood her fully. They knew each other’s faults and picked each other time and time again. In the purest meaning of the word, they were soulmates.
“I am happy,” she said. Anne knew that her life wasn’t magically perfect now that she had a boyfriend, but Gilbert managed to calm a handful of Anne’s insecurities. It felt nice to be wanted. It felt nice to be chosen.
“Have you told anyone?” Cole asked. Anne shook her head. Despite desperately wanting to tell Diana, Anne knew she couldn’t. Keeping the secret hidden against her chest ensured that no one would see it. “Well, just know I’m here for you guys. I’ll easily lie to Phillips, no problem.” Anne laughed, feeling better than she had all day.
As the months went on, it got harder and harder to pretend they would get away with it. The more comfortable they got with each other, the easier it was to slip up during work. At least half of the parks department knew by now, as well as Diana.
(Anne had expected Diana to be furious for keeping it a secret from her, for sneaking around when everything was at stake. But she was thrilled, and told Anne if Gilbert ever hurt her, she’d kill him personally. It made Anne cry only a little bit.)
“Well, we have two options: break up-”
“Which is out of the question,” Anne interrupted.
“-or we tell Phillips,” Gilbert finished. It was a lose-lose scenario. Anne felt sick just thinking about how their boss would react. “Or I can take the blame.” Gilbert was so quiet, Anne almost didn’t hear him. Anne was speechless. “You’ve worked here longer, this is your town. I was only supposed to be here for a few months.”
“And look where that got you,” Anne teased, hoping it would distract Gilbert from his insane plan. It didn’t work; he gave her a look and Anne’s smile fell. But Anne refused to let Gilbert take the fall for this. “No, we can do this. No one will have to lose their jobs. We’ve gotten pretty good at sneaking around.”
“Anne, you know that’s not enough anymore,” Gilbert said. He was right. Of course he was right. But what other choice did they have? “I’m willing to sacrifice my career. It’s okay, Anne.”
That was the final straw that broke her back.
“It’s not okay! You shouldn’t have to give up your job for me. I could never ask that of you.”
Gilbert took her hand in his. “It’s a good thing you’re not asking then.”
“Gil, I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” He took a deep breath. “Anne, I… I love you more than some dumb job.” Anne couldn’t tell if she heard him right. Loved her? He loved her? He loved her. She could hardly believe it.
The last person to tell Anne they loved her ended up cheating on her with her roommate at the time. No one loved Anne Shirley Cuthbert, at least not in that way. The girls at the foster home made sure she never forgot that fact.
Anne began shaking her head. Her breathing was shallow and her hands grew clammy.
“No, no you can’t…” Can’t possibly love me. It had to be some kind of mistake.
But Gilbert would never lie to her. He would never tell her what she wanted to hear. He only ever told her the truth.
“You… love me?” Anne asked, trying to control her breathing. Gilbert nodded.
“You don’t have to say it back, that’s not why I said it,” he said, seemingly as nervous as Anne was. It grounded Anne. His own anxiety made Anne feel not so alone. And that was really the heart of it all; Anne never felt alone or stranded when she was with Gilbert. He understood her perfectly.
That’s what made her say, “I love you too. I, Anne Shirley Cuthbert, am absolutely certain about you, Gilbert Blythe. And if you really want to tell Phillips, then I’m with you. All the way.”
Gilbert’s smile could put every single star in the sky to shame. He radiated light as he leaned in to kiss her. Anne’s heart was full of love she only ever read about. It was an intoxicating feeling.